Mycteroperca interstitialis
Yellowmouth Grouper
Collection Details
Specimens
Photos
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Perciformes (Perciformes, Also Called the Acanthopteri)
Serranidae (Sea Basses and Groupers)
Mycteroperca
Mycteroperca interstitialis (Yellowmouth Grouper)
Description
This species account was compiled from
Composite (multiple sources) (McEachran, J.D. and J.D. Fechhelm. Fishes of the Gulf of Mexico. University of Texas Press, Austin.)
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Characters
Preoperculum notched above angle; rays of median fins produced beyond membrane in adults; profile of head evenly convex; posterior naris greatly enlarged in adults; maxilla extends to about middle of eye, with ventral margin straight and lacking step or bony knob; supramaxilla well developed; large canines in anterior section of jaws; preoperculum angular, with posterior margin serrated and angle extended as lobe bearing enlarged serrae; dorsal margin of operculum convex; gill rakers on first arch number 23 to 27; head length 33%–36% SL, body depth 29%–33% SL; pectoral fin broadly rounded with 16 or 17 rays; dorsal fin has 11 spines and 16 to 18 rays, with twelfth and thirteenth rays elongate in adults; anal fin has 11 or 12 rays, with sixth to eighth rays elongated in adults; caudal fin emarginate; lateral body scales ctenoid; lateral line scales number 70 to 74, and scales in horizontal series number 112 to 119
Light brownish gray with dense covering of small brown spots on dorsal and upper lateral sections of body; mouth and margin of spinous dorsal fin yellow; pectoral fin rays black, with membranes unpigmented and fin margin white; juveniles brown dorsally and white ventrally, with white middorsal stripe from tip of lower jaw to origin of dorsal fin; occasionally dorsal surface patterned with dark bars or saddlelike blotches
Distribution
Western Atlantic from North Carolina and Bermuda to southern Brazil, including the Gulf of Mexico, the Bahamas, and the Greater and Lesser Antilles
In the Gulf of Mexico found off western Florida and the Flower Garden Banks and in Campeche Bay
Habitat Associations
Coral reefs and rocky areas between 20 and 150 m
Associated with coral reefs and rocky areas
Biology
Food consists of ray-finned fishes
Maximum known size is 74 cm TL
Found mainly on rocky or coral bottoms from the shoreline to at least 55 m depth; small and middle-sized individuals commonly occur in mangrove-lined lagoons. Feeds on fishes. Sex-reversal observed (Ref. 5521). More common in island waters than along the coast (Ref. 26938). The tricolored pattern of the juveniles mimics that of the juveniles of the clown wrasse, Halichoeres maculipinna. The aggressive mimic’s behavior includes folding down the median and caudal fins, which adds to its wrasse imitation and allows it to approach its otherwise wary prey (Ref. 43465). Marketed fresh; flesh is of good quality.
Reproductive mode: protogyny; fertilization: external; nonguarders (open water/substratum egg scatterers); parental care: none. Pelagic spawner (Ref. 32199).
IUCN Red List Status: Vulnerable (VU), assessed 2016-11-21. Resilience: Low (K=0.06; tmax=41).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: commercial; gamefish; aquarium: public aquariums.
References
Randall 1968a
Randall 1996
Böhlke and Chaplin 1968
Smith 1971
Smith 1997
Robins and Ray 1986
Dennis and Bright 1988b
Cervigón 1991
Boschung 1992
Heemstra and Randall 1993
Schaldach et al. 1997
Smith-Vaniz et al. 1999
Heemstra 2002c
Randall, J.E. (1967) Food habits of reef fishes of the West Indies. Stud. Trop. Oceanogr. Miami 5:665-847.
Heemstra, P.C. and J.E. Randall (1993) FAO Species Catalogue. Vol. 16. Groupers of the world (family Serranidae, subfamily Epinephelinae). An annotated and illustrated catalogue of the grouper, rockcod, hind, coral grouper and lyretail species known to date. Rome: FAO. FAO Fish. Synop. 125(16):382 p.
Smith, C.L. (1997) National Audubon Society field guide to tropical marine fishes of the Caribbean, the Gulf of Mexico, Florida, the Bahamas, and Bermuda. Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., New York. 720 p.
IGFA (2001) Database of IGFA angling records until 2001. IGFA, Fort Lauderdale, USA.
Craig, M.T., YJ. Sadovy de Mitcheson and P.C. Heemstra (2011) Groupers of the world: a field and market guide. North America: CRC Press/Taylor and Francis Group, xix, 356 p., A47 pages appendix. DOI: 10.1201-/9780429087899
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